We will fly into Athens after a week in the Cyclades on August 10, 2018 and depart on a yacht cruise of the Saronic Coast Islands (Hydra etc.) from Piraeus Port on August 11. Is it necessary to stay at a hotel in Piraeus on the night of August 10th? We'd rather spend the night in one of the neighborhoods near the Acropolis but don't know how difficult it would be to get to Piraeus the next day for the cruise. We will have a three nights and two and a half days in Athens when we return from the cruise, so it's not to see the Acropolis area sights. It's for the ambience. Thanks in advance.
Posted by
Atlanta, Ga, USA
2023 posts
We liked Hotel Plaka with a nice rooftop view of the Acropolis. The hotel gets great reviews in several travel guides. Breakfast is good and room rate reasonable. We took a taxi to the port and the cost was equivalent to about $5. There are lots of good restaurants in the Plaka area.
Posted by
Camarillo, California
3120 posts
Taxis, buses and the Metro will take you from central Athens to Piraeus. There's no need for you to stay in Piraeus.
Posted by
Brighton, UK
1386 posts
If you stay somewhere close to Monastiraki station then the metro takes under 30 minutes to Piraeus and there are several trains an hour. Monastiraki is also on the direct line from the airport.
Alan
Posted by
OP
San Francisco, CA, USA
63 posts
We have a request in at Hotel Hera. Rick Steves recommends it in the Greece guidebook. Sounds like that would be okay. Not in Plaka but close.
Posted by
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8293 posts
We stayed just the one night before a cruise in Piraeus. It is quite a lively place, actually. It is not Athens, of course, but we had all been to Athens a couple of times before. The taxi to the ship was quick and cheap.
Posted by
WA State
3961 posts
We recommend Hera Hotel just south of the Acropolis. Spent 4 nights there and was in walking distance to the sights, restaurants as well as the Plaka. Beautiful view of the Acropolis from the rooftop Peacock restaurant.
Posted by
Brighton, UK
1386 posts
If you don’t want to get a cab then the easiest way from the Hera Hotel to Piraeus is the number 40 bus. It runs 24 hours a day down Syggrou which is about 3 minutes from the Hotel.
To do it by metro you would need to start from the Acropolis station and change at Syntagma and Monastiraki.